CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Wednesday afternoon, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio plans to vote on FirstEnergy’s request to revise its reliability standards.
The proposal would affect customers of Cleveland Electric Illuminating, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison.
If approved, the proposal would give utilities more time to restore power after outages and allow a higher number of service interruptions annually.
FirstEnergy first filed the application in 2024. The first evidentiary hearing on the issue took place this past February.
FirstEnergy has said that more frequent storms and disruptive weather events are making it harder to meet current standards.
Earlier this year, FirstEnergy told News 5 in a statement:
We’ve filed updated reliability standards with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) as part of our ongoing commitment to a stronger, more modern electric grid. PUCO will review the filing at a hearing on February 26.
Ohio’s weather has changed dramatically in recent years, with more frequent and intense storms impacting electric service. While major storms are excluded from reliability calculations, smaller but disruptive weather events, including heavier rainfall, and trees outside our rights-of-way have created new challenges. According to NOAA, severe weather events in Ohio have tripled in recent years—from an average of 2.3 per year (1980–2024) to 7.2 per year (2020–2024). These trends underscore why we’re taking proactive steps now.
Our request to update reliability standards reflects reality, but it does not change our promise to customers. In fact, we’re investing more than $3 billion through 2029 to strengthen poles, wires, and equipment across Ohio. These upgrades will make the grid more resilient and better prepared for the future.
Big improvements take time, but progress is underway. We’re focused on delivering reliable service today while building a smarter, stronger grid for tomorrow. Every Ohio community deserves dependable power—and we’re committed to making that happen.
Currently, Cleveland Electric Illuminating’s System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) is 1.13, and the proposal would keep it the same.
SAIFI is a utility metric used to measure how often the average customer experiences a sustained power outage over a given period, typically a year.
The current SAIFI for Ohio Edison is 1.00. The proposal calls for it to increase to 1.05.
The current SAIFI for Toledo Edison is 0.76, with it increasing to 0.81 under the proposal.
The Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI) is a utility metric that measures the amount of time it takes to restore power after an outage.
Currently, Cleveland Electric Illuminating’s CAIDI is 135.00 minutes. Under the proposal, it would increase to 150.49 minutes.
For Ohio Edison, the CAIDI is currently 114.37 minutes and would increase to 117.88 under the proposal.
The CAIDI for Toledo Edison is currently 108.80 minutes and would increase to 120.53 minutes.
Several communities, including Lakewood, have pushed back on FirstEnergy’s request to revise its reliability standards.
Last year, Lakewood Mayor Meghan George wrote to PUCO, citing the financial and emotional stress repeated power outages have had on residents.
Mayor George said in the filing, “According to First Energy’s own data, during the 13-month period from September 2024 through September 2025, Lakewood consumers experienced over 60 power outages lasting at least five hours.”
The filing went on to say, “Over half of these major outages were caused by First Energy’s equipment, or line failure or company errors by its own admission.”
George also wrote, “Elderly and disabled residents have been trapped in high-rise building elevators for extended periods until emergency personnel have been able to respond.”
The mayor also stated the city had to shell out $7,500 to replace spoiled food for its low-income residents due to a power outage that lasted several days in June 2025.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
